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How to Engrave Your Drinking Glasses. Personalize your drinking glasses by etching names and
messages on them. Your guests will be so impressed! You will need Internet access Stencils Glasses
Tape A cloth or towel A sturdy stand An engraving tool A dark-colored napkin or construction
paper A soft cloth or pastry brush and an old glass. Step 1. Decide what you want to
engrave on your glasses. Names or initials? A word like “Cheers”? A design? Type search
words like “monogram,” “alphabet,” and “stencils” into a search engine, and
print out what you like. Step 2. Via a photo-editing web site or with simple software, resize the
stencils to fit your glasses. Then, print and cut out the letter or design, position
it inside the glass with design facing outward, and tape it in place. Practice on an old glass
before tackling your good glasses. Step 3. Place a cloth or towel on a flat surface for
the hand holding the glass to rest on. For the hand that will hold the engraving tool,
put down something sturdy, like a phone book, that will keep that hand steady and lifted
slightly above the glass being etched. Step 4. Taking your engraving tool, which you can
buy at a craft store, gently trace just the outline of the letters or design. Using small
strokes and very little pressure, etch from left to right, and from top to bottom. Stay
away from the lip, where the glass is thinner and could break. Step 5. When the outline
is done, remove the stencil and fill the inside of the glass with something dark-colored so
that you can better see the design. Step 6. Finish etching the design, experimenting with
different levels of pressure to achieve the look you want. Periodically dust off the glass
powder with a pastry brush or soft cloth. Step 7. After you’ve finished engraving,
wipe the design with a damp cloth to remove any remaining glass residue. Voila! You’ve
just engraved your first glass! Did you know An American billionaire sued a German collector
after discovering that the wine bottles he’d bought from him, believing them to have once
belonged to Thomas Jefferson, were actually engraved with the letters “Th.J” by a
modern electric drill!